IBM announced today that their Watson computing system will compete on Jeopardy! against the show’s most successful contestants—Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.

The Jeopardy! competition will be telecast over three consecutive days (February 14-16, 2011). Grand prize will be $1 million, with second place earning $300,000 and third place $200,000. Rutter and Jennings will donate 50 percent of their winnings to charity. IBM will donate 100% of its winnings to charity.

In December 2009, the Jeopardy! producers got their first demo of Watson (named after IBM's founder). Producer Harry Friedman said, “We’re thrilled that Jeopardy! is considered a benchmark of ultimate knowledge. Performing well on Jeopardy! requires a combination of skills, and it will be fascinating to see whether a computer can compete against arguably the two best Jeopardy! players ever.”